Bad Girl (TYG)

Epilouge

I mean, I would listen to the song, but that's just me...

One year later:

"Isn't spring time so beautiful?" I ask as we pass the lilac bushes and lemon trees. "It's a new beginning."

"It is," Carl agrees, our entwined hands swinging back and forth, "but I've seen something much more beautiful and I'll never look away."

I catch his eyes on me and I feel my cheeks flush.

"After all this time, I still make you blush." He chuckles, a smile spreading across his face.

He let's go of my hand and moves his hand up to pinch my cheek.

"Carl Grimes!" I play scold him, crossing my arms over my chest.

"Anna Greene!" He mocks me.

"I do not sound like that!" I exclaim while he laughs.

"Of course not, darling." He grins, rejoining our hands. "Come on."

"Where are we going?" I ask. It has to be the tenth time I've asked this question in the past hour.

"We're almost there." He says, pulling me in towards him.

He picks me up off the ground so I'm laying in his arms and I gasp in surprise.

"Close your eyes, you can't see for the rest of the journey." He orders me.

"Carl, you know how much I hate surprises! The suspense is killing me!" I groan.

"I know." He smirks, looking down at me, his blue eyes sparkling.

I huff and place my hands over my eyes.

"No peeking!" He warns me.

After about five minutes, he sets me down on the ground.

"Can I look?" I ask.

"Not yet." He says. "Okay, open your eyes."

I remove my hands from my eyes to
see a bright blue pond a couple of feet away, but the sight directly in front of me is what makes me gasp. He's on one knee, his hands extended towards me, a ring in them.

My hands comes up to cover my mouth as he looks up at me, his blue eyes so bright and earnest.

"Anna Bella Greene, I promise to love you until the day I die." He says. That's when the waterworks start flowing. "I can't promise to be perfect, but I can promise to try my hardest. I want nothing more than to spend the rest off life with you. Will you marry me?"

"Yes-yes." I choke out, nodding my head violently.

I hold out my left hand to him and he gently slips the ring onto my finger, kissing my hand. He then stands up and I wrap my arms around his neck and kiss him, the tears flowing freely. He kisses them away and my heart soars. I don't think I could ever be happier than I am in this very moment, and that's how I know I will stay with him by my side. Forever.

-

In the end, we didn't need anyone to save us. We saved ourselves.

We found our own place to create, our own place to call home, leaving Riven behind.

The definition of Riven is to split or tear apart violently, and that's not what we were anymore.

This time, we called ourselves 'United'. And that's exactly what we were. So much bigger, so much better than Riven could even have hoped to be.

Even so, I can still feel the soft ache in my heart. The pieces of it are held together by a band aide, but over time, they began to merge back together.

I won't ever live my time with Chris down, like Mrs. Thompson warned me. Maybe that's why I drew the words on a large white banner and hung it up in our town. 'If you live it up you won't live it down.' No one knows quite what it means like I do, but Rick says it teaches a good lesson to anyone who passes by it and reads it.

Besides, there's nothing wrong with being a Bad Girl every once in a while, but I know I'm done with that for good.

Bad Girl.